A History of Political Theory is a book by George Holland Sabine on the history of political thought from Ancient Greece to fascism and Nazism in the 1930s. A history of political theory [George Holland Sabine] Political Theory & Studies, Political Science, A History of Political Theory. George Holland Sabine. Holt, 1950 - Political science - 934 pages QR code for A History of Political Theory POLITICAL THOUGHT BEFORE PLATO. PLATO THE REPUBLIC George Holland Sabine Snippet view - 1973 QR code for A History of Political Theory Buy A History of Political Theory, 4th Edition ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders.

A history of political theory. George Holland Sabine. George Holland Sabine (9 December 1880 – 18 January 1961), popularly known as Sabine, was a professor of philosophy, dean of the Graduate School and vice president of Cornell University. He is best known for his authoritative work A History of Political Theory, Cites changes and trends in political schools of thought concerning the city-state, universal community, and national state. Cites changes and trends in political schools of thought concerning the city-state, universal community, and national state. CHAPTER PAGE.

Political Thought before Plato. 32 Title, A History of Political Theory A History of Political Theory, George Holland Sabine American CHAPTER PAGE. Political Thought before Plato. 32 Title, A History of Political Theory A History of Political Theory, George Holland Sabine American.

Several of her books online, including 'Little Lord Fauntleroy,' 'A Lady of Quality,' and 'The Secret Garden History of political theory george h sabine pdf. ' At Project Gutenberg. History of political theory george h sabine pdf. (2011): The Oxford Handbook of the History of Political Philosophy, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Rowe & Schofield (eds.) (2000): The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Political Thought, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Sabine, George H. (1961): A History of Political Theory, New York: Holt, Rinehart and.

• • • Adolf Hitler ( German: ( ); 20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was a German politician who was the leader of the ( Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei; NSDAP), from 1933 to 1945 and ('Leader') of from 1934 to 1945. As, Hitler initiated with the in September 1939, and was central to. Hitler was born in Austria—then part of —and was raised near. He moved to Germany in 1913 and was decorated during his in. In 1919, he joined the (DAP), the precursor of the NSDAP, and was appointed leader of the NSDAP in 1921. In 1923, he attempted to seize power in and was imprisoned.

While in jail he dictated the first volume of his autobiography and political manifesto ('My Struggle'). Released in 1924, Hitler gained popular support by attacking the and promoting, and with oratory and. He frequently denounced international capitalism and communism as being part of a.

By 1933, the Nazi Party was the largest elected party in the German, but did not have a majority, and no party was able to form a majority parliamentary coalition in support of a candidate for chancellor. This led to former chancellor and other conservative leaders persuading President to appoint Hitler as Chancellor on 30 January 1933. Shortly after, the Reichstag passed the, which began the process of transforming the into Nazi Germany, a dictatorship based on the and ideology of. Hitler aimed to eliminate Jews from Germany and establish a to counter what he saw as the injustice of the post-World War I international order dominated by Britain and France. His first six years in power resulted in rapid economic recovery from the, the abrogation of restrictions imposed on Germany after World War I and the annexation of territories that were home to millions of which gave him significant popular support. Hitler sought ('living space') for the German people in Eastern Europe and his aggressive foreign policy is considered to be the primary cause of the outbreak of World War II in Europe. He directed large-scale rearmament and on 1 September 1939 invaded Poland that resulted in Britain and France.

In June 1941, Hitler ordered an. By the end of 1941, German forces and the European occupied most of Europe and. In December 1941, he formally declared war on the United States, bringing them directly into the conflict.

Failure to defeat the Soviets and the entry of the United States into the war forced Germany onto the defensive and it suffered a series of escalating defeats. In the final days of the war during the in 1945, he married his long-time lover. Less than two days later on 30 April 1945, the two to avoid capture by the Soviet and their corpses were burned. Under Hitler's leadership and, the Nazi regime was responsible for the of whom he and his followers deemed (sub-humans) or socially undesirable. Hitler and the Nazi regime were also responsible for the killing of an estimated 19.3 million civilians and prisoners of war. In addition, 29 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of military action in the. The number of civilians killed during the Second World War was unprecedented in warfare and the casualties constituted the.

Adolf Hitler as an infant (c. 1889–90) Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April 1889 in, a town in (in present-day Austria), close to the border with the. He was as 'Adolphus Hitler'. He was the fourth of six children born to and his third wife,. Three of Hitler's siblings—Gustav, Ida, and Otto—died in infancy.

Also living in the household were Alois's children from his second marriage: Alois Jr. (born 1882) and (born 1883).

When Hitler was three, the family moved to, Germany. There he acquired the distinctive, rather than, which marked his speech throughout his life.

The family returned to Austria and settled in in 1894, and in June 1895 Alois retired to Hafeld, near, where he farmed and kept bees. Hitler attended (a state-owned school) in nearby. The move to Hafeld coincided with the onset of intense father-son conflicts caused by Hitler's refusal to conform to the strict discipline of his school.

Alois Hitler's farming efforts at Hafeld ended in failure, and in 1897 the family moved to Lambach. The eight-year-old Hitler took singing lessons, sang in the church choir, and even considered becoming a priest.

In 1898 the family returned permanently to Leonding. Hitler was deeply affected by the death of his younger brother, who died in 1900 from. Hitler changed from a confident, outgoing, conscientious student to a morose, detached boy who constantly fought with his father and teachers. Alois had made a successful career in the customs bureau, and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps.

Hitler later dramatised an episode from this period when his father took him to visit a customs office, depicting it as an event that gave rise to an unforgiving antagonism between father and son, who were both strong-willed. Ignoring his son's desire to attend a classical high school and become an artist, Alois sent Hitler to the in Linz in September 1900.

Hitler rebelled against this decision, and in states that he intentionally did poorly in school, hoping that once his father saw 'what little progress I was making at the technical school he would let me devote myself to my dream'. Like many Austrian Germans, Hitler began to develop ideas from a young age. He expressed loyalty only to Germany, despising the declining and its rule over an ethnically variegated empire. Hitler and his friends used the greeting 'Heil', and sang the ' instead of the. After Alois's sudden death on 3 January 1903, Hitler's performance at school deteriorated and his mother allowed him to leave. He enrolled at the Realschule in in September 1904, where his behaviour and performance improved. In 1905, after passing a repeat of the final exam, Hitler left the school without any ambitions for further education or clear plans for a career.

Early adulthood in Vienna and Munich. The house in in Austria where Hitler spent his early adolescence (photo taken in July 2012) In 1907 Hitler left Linz to live and study fine art in, financed by orphan's benefits and support from his mother. He applied for admission to the but was rejected twice.. The director explained his drawings showed 'unfitness for painting' and suggested Hitler was better suited to studying architecture.

Though this was an interest of his, he lacked the academic credentials as he had not finished secondary school. On 21 December 1907, his mother died of at the age of 47. In 1909 Hitler ran out of money and was forced to live a life in homeless shelters and a men's hostel. He earned money as a casual labourer and by painting and selling watercolours of Vienna's sights. Watercolour by Adolf Hitler, 1914 During his time in Vienna he pursued a growing passion for two interests, architecture and music, attending ten performances of, his favorite opera.

It was here that Hitler first became exposed to rhetoric. Such as mayor exploited the climate of virulent and occasionally espoused German nationalist notions for political effect. German nationalism had a particularly widespread following in the district, where Hitler lived. Became a major influence on Hitler. He also developed an admiration for. Hitler read local newspapers such as Deutsches Volksblatt that fanned prejudice and played on Christian fears of being swamped by an influx of Eastern European Jews.

He read newspapers and pamphlets that published the thoughts of philosophers and theoreticians such as,,, and. The origin and development of Hitler's anti-Semitism remains a matter of debate. His friend,, claimed that Hitler was a 'confirmed anti-Semite' before he left Linz. However, historian Brigitte Hamann describes Kubizek's claim as 'problematical'.

While Hitler states in Mein Kampf that he first became an anti-Semite in Vienna,, who helped him sell his paintings, disagrees. Hitler had dealings with Jews while living in Vienna. Historian states that 'historians now generally agree that his notorious, murderous anti-Semitism emerged well after Germany's defeat [in World War I], as a product of the paranoid for the catastrophe'. Hitler received the final part of his father's estate in May 1913 and moved to, Germany.

Hitler was called up for conscription into the, so he journeyed to on 5 February 1914 for medical assessment. After he was deemed by the medical examiners as unfit for service, he returned to Munich. Hitler later claimed that he did not wish to serve the because of the mixture of races in its army and his belief that the collapse of Austria-Hungary was imminent. Hitler ( far right, seated) with his army comrades of the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16 (c. 1914–18) In August 1914, at the outbreak of, Hitler was living in Munich and voluntarily enlisted in the. According to a 1924 report by the Bavarian authorities, allowing Hitler to serve was almost certainly an administrative error, since as an Austrian citizen, he should have been returned to Austria. Posted to the (1st Company of the List Regiment), he served as a dispatch on the in France and Belgium, spending nearly half his time at the regimental headquarters in, well behind the front lines.

He was present at the, the, the, and the, and was wounded at the Somme. Programs For Scoring Trap Leaguesecretary. He was decorated for bravery, receiving the, Second Class, in 1914.

On a recommendation by Lieutenant, Hitler's Jewish superior, he received the Iron Cross, First Class on 4 August 1918, a decoration rarely awarded to one of Hitler's rank. He received the on 18 May 1918. Of (1926–28 edition) Hitler fled to the home of and by some accounts contemplated suicide. He was depressed but calm when arrested on 11 November 1923 for. His trial before the special in Munich began in February 1924, and became temporary leader of the NSDAP.

On 1 April, Hitler was sentenced to five years' imprisonment. There, he received friendly treatment from the guards, and was allowed mail from supporters and regular visits by party comrades. Pardoned by the Bavarian Supreme Court, he was released from jail on 20 December 1924, against the state prosecutor's objections. Including time on remand, Hitler served just over one year in prison. While at Landsberg, Hitler dictated most of the first volume of Mein Kampf ( My Struggle; originally entitled Four and a Half Years of Struggle against Lies, Stupidity, and Cowardice) to his deputy, Rudolf Hess. The book, dedicated to Thule Society member Dietrich Eckart, was an autobiography and exposition of his ideology. The book laid out Hitler's plans for transforming German society into one based on race.

Some passages imply. Published in two volumes in 1925 and 1926, it sold 228,000 copies between 1925 and 1932. One million copies were sold in 1933, Hitler's first year in office. Shortly before Hitler was eligible for parole, the Bavarian government attempted to have him deported back to Austria. The Austrian federal chancellor rejected the request on the specious grounds that his service in the German Army made his Austrian citizenship void.

In response, Hitler formally renounced his Austrian citizenship on 7 April 1925. Rebuilding the NSDAP At the time of Hitler's release from prison, politics in Germany had become less combative and the economy had improved, limiting Hitler's opportunities for political agitation. As a result of the failed Beer Hall Putsch, the NSDAP and its affiliated organisations were banned in Bavaria.

In a meeting with the Prime Minister of Bavaria on 4 January 1925, Hitler agreed to respect the state's authority and promised that he would seek political power only through the democratic process. The meeting paved the way for the ban on the NSDAP to be lifted on 16 February. However, after an inflammatory speech he gave on 27 February, Hitler was barred from public speaking by the Bavarian authorities, a ban that remained in place until 1927. To advance his political ambitions in spite of the ban, Hitler appointed, and to organise and grow the NSDAP in northern Germany. Gregor Strasser steered a more independent political course, emphasising the socialist elements of the party's programme.

The stock market in the United States. The impact in Germany was dire: millions were thrown out of work and several major banks collapsed. Hitler and the NSDAP prepared to take advantage of the emergency to gain support for their party. They promised to repudiate the Versailles Treaty, strengthen the economy and provide jobs. Rise to power. — Adolf Hitler to a British correspondent in Berlin, June 1934 Having achieved full control over the legislative and executive branches of government, Hitler and his allies began to suppress the remaining opposition.

The Social Democratic Party was banned and its assets seized. While many trade union delegates were in Berlin for May Day activities, SA stormtroopers demolished union offices around the country. On 2 May 1933 all trade unions were forced to dissolve and their leaders were arrested. Some were sent to. The was formed as an umbrella organisation to represent all workers, administrators, and company owners, thus reflecting the concept of national socialism in the spirit of Hitler's ('people's community').

In 1934, Hitler became Germany's head of state with the title of (leader and chancellor of the Reich). By the end of June, the other parties had been intimidated into disbanding. This included the Nazis' nominal coalition partner, the DNVP; with the SA's help, Hitler forced its leader, Hugenberg, to resign on 29 June. On 14 July 1933, the NSDAP was declared the only legal political party in Germany. The demands of the SA for more political and military power caused anxiety among military, industrial, and political leaders.

In response, Hitler purged the entire SA leadership in the, which took place from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Hitler targeted and other SA leaders who, along with a number of Hitler's political adversaries (such as Gregor Strasser and former chancellor ), were rounded up, arrested, and shot. While the international community and some Germans were shocked by the murders, many in Germany believed Hitler was restoring order. On 2 August 1934, Hindenburg died. The previous day, the cabinet had enacted the 'Law Concerning the Highest State Office of the Reich'. This law stated that upon Hindenburg's death, the office of president would be abolished and its powers merged with those of the chancellor.

Hitler thus became head of state as well as head of government, and was formally named as (leader and chancellor). With this action, Hitler eliminated the last legal remedy by which he could be removed from office. As head of state, Hitler became supreme commander of the armed forces. Immediately after Hindenberg's death, at the instigation of the leadership of the Reichswehr, the traditional loyalty oath of soldiers was altered to, rather than to the office of supreme commander or the state. On 19 August, the merger of the presidency with the chancellorship was approved by 88 per cent of the electorate voting in a. In early 1938, Hitler used blackmail to consolidate his hold over the military by instigating the. Hitler forced his War Minister, Field Marshal, to resign by using a police dossier that showed that Blomberg's new wife had a record for prostitution.

Army commander Colonel-General was removed after the (SS) produced allegations that he had engaged in a homosexual relationship. Both men had fallen into disfavour because they objected to Hitler's demand to make the ready for war as early as 1938. Hitler assumed Blomberg's title of Commander-in-Chief, thus taking personal command of the armed forces. He replaced the Ministry of War with the (Armed Forces High Command: OKW), headed by General. On the same day, sixteen generals were stripped of their commands and 44 more were transferred; all were suspected of not being sufficiently pro-Nazi.

By early February 1938, twelve more generals had been removed. Hitler took care to give his dictatorship the appearance of legality. Many of his decrees were explicitly based on the Reichstag Fire Decree and hence on Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution. The Reichstag renewed the Enabling Act twice, each time for a four-year period. While elections to the Reichstag were still held (in 1933, 1936, and 1938), voters were presented with a single list of Nazis and pro-Nazi 'guests' which carried with well over 90 percent of the vote.

These elections were held in far-from-secret conditions; the Nazis threatened severe reprisals against anyone who didn't vote or dared to vote no. Nazi Germany. Ceremony honouring the dead (Totenehrung) on the terrace in front of the Hall of Honour (Ehrenhalle) at the,, September 1934 In August 1934, Hitler appointed Reichsbank President as Minister of Economics, and in the following year, as Plenipotentiary for War Economy in charge of preparing the economy for war. Reconstruction and rearmament were financed through, printing money, and seizing the assets of people arrested as enemies of the State, including Jews. Unemployment fell from six million in 1932 to one million in 1936. Hitler oversaw one of the largest infrastructure improvement campaigns in German history, leading to the construction of dams,, railroads, and other civil works.

Wages were slightly lower in the mid to late 1930s compared with wages during the Weimar Republic, while the cost of living increased by 25 per cent. The average work week increased during the shift to a war economy; by 1939, the average German was working between 47 and 50 hours a week. Hitler's government sponsored on an immense scale., instrumental in implementing Hitler's classicist reinterpretation of German culture, was placed in charge of the. Despite a threatened, Germany hosted the 1936.

Hitler officiated at the opening ceremonies and attended events at both the in and the in Berlin. Rearmament and new alliances. Hitler and the Japanese foreign minister,, at a meeting in Berlin in March 1941.

In the background is. In February 1938, on the advice of his newly appointed foreign minister, the strongly pro-Japanese, Hitler ended the with the to instead enter into an alliance with the more modern and powerful. Hitler announced German recognition of, the Japanese-occupied state in, and renounced German claims to their former colonies in the Pacific held by Japan. Hitler ordered an end to arms shipments to China and recalled all German officers working with the Chinese Army. In retaliation, Chinese General cancelled all Sino-German economic agreements, depriving the Germans of many Chinese raw materials.

Austria and Czechoslovakia On 12 March 1938, Hitler announced the unification of Austria with in the. Hitler then turned his attention to the population of the region of Czechoslovakia.

On 28–29 March 1938, Hitler held a series of secret meetings in Berlin with of the, the largest of the ethnic German parties of the Sudetenland. The men agreed that Henlein would demand increased autonomy for from the Czechoslovakian government, thus providing a pretext for German military action against Czechoslovakia. In April 1938 Henlein told the of that 'whatever the Czech government might offer, he would always raise still higher demands. He wanted to sabotage an understanding by any means because this was the only method to blow up Czechoslovakia quickly'. In private, Hitler considered the Sudeten issue unimportant; his real intention was a war of conquest against Czechoslovakia. See also: In private discussions in 1939, Hitler declared Britain the main enemy to be defeated and that Poland's obliteration was a necessary prelude for that goal.

The eastern flank would be secured and land would be added to Germany's Lebensraum. Offended by the British 'guarantee' on 31 March 1939 of Polish independence, he said, 'I shall brew them a devil's drink'. In a speech in for the launch of the battleship on 1 April, he threatened to denounce the if the British continued to guarantee Polish independence, which he perceived as an 'encirclement' policy. Poland was to either become a German satellite state or it would be neutralised in order to secure the Reich's eastern flank and prevent a possible British blockade.

Hitler initially favoured the idea of a satellite state, but upon its rejection by the Polish government, he decided to invade and made this the main foreign policy goal of 1939. On 3 April, Hitler ordered the military to prepare for ('Case White'), the plan for invading Poland on 25 August. In a Reichstag speech on 28 April, he renounced both the Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the. Historians such as William Carr,, and have argued that one reason for Hitler's rush to war was his fear of an early death. He had repeatedly claimed that he must lead Germany into war before he got too old, as his successors might lack his strength of will.

Hitler portrayed on a 42 stamp from 1944. The term Grossdeutsches Reich (Greater German Reich) was first used in 1943 for the expanded Germany under his rule. Hitler was concerned that a military attack against Poland could result in a premature war with Britain.

Hitler's foreign minister and former Ambassador to London, Joachim von Ribbentrop, assured him that neither Britain nor France would honour their commitments to Poland. Accordingly, on 22 August 1939 Hitler ordered a military mobilisation against Poland. This plan required tacit Soviet support, and the (the ) between Germany and the Soviet Union, led by, included a secret agreement to partition Poland between the two countries.

Contrary to Ribbentrop's prediction that Britain would sever Anglo-Polish ties, Britain and Poland signed the Anglo-Polish alliance on 25 August 1939. This, along with news from Italy that Mussolini would not honour the, prompted Hitler to postpone the attack on Poland from 25 August to 1 September. Hitler unsuccessfully tried to manoeuvre the British into neutrality by offering them a non-aggression guarantee on 25 August; he then instructed Ribbentrop to present a last-minute peace plan with an impossibly short time limit in an effort to blame the imminent war on British and Polish inaction.

On 1 September 1939, Germany under the pretext of having been denied claims to the and the right to extraterritorial roads across the, which Germany had ceded under the Versailles Treaty. In response, on Germany on 3 September, surprising Hitler and prompting him to angrily ask Ribbentrop, 'Now what?' France and Britain did not act on their declarations immediately, and on 17 September, Soviet forces invaded eastern Poland. Hitler visits Paris with architect (left) and sculptor (right), 23 June 1940 On 9 April, German forces. On the same day Hitler proclaimed the birth of the, his vision of a united empire of Germanic nations of Europe in which the Dutch, Flemish, and Scandinavians were joined into a 'racially pure' polity under German leadership. In May 1940, Germany, and conquered, the, and. These victories prompted Mussolini to have Italy join forces with Hitler on 10 June.

France and Germany signed an on 22 June. Kershaw notes that Hitler's popularity within Germany – and German support for the war – reached its peak when he returned to Berlin on 6 July from his tour of Paris. Following the unexpected swift victory, Hitler promoted twelve generals to the rank of during the. Boundaries of the Nazi planned Britain, whose troops were forced to evacuate France by sea from, continued to fight alongside in the.

Hitler made peace overtures to the new British leader,, and upon their rejection he ordered a series of aerial attacks on airbases and radar stations in south-east England. On 7 September the systematic nightly bombing of London began. The German Luftwaffe failed to defeat the Royal Air Force in what became known as the. By the end of September, Hitler realised that air superiority for the invasion of Britain (in ) could not be achieved, and ordered the operation postponed.

The on British cities intensified and continued for months, including London,, and. On 27 September 1940, the was signed in Berlin by of, Hitler, and Italian foreign minister Ciano, and later expanded to include Hungary, Romania, and, thus yielding the. Hitler's attempt to integrate the Soviet Union into the anti-British bloc failed after inconclusive talks between Hitler and in Berlin in November, and he ordered preparations for the invasion of the Soviet Union. In early 1941, German forces were deployed to North Africa, the, and the Middle East. In February, to bolster the Italian presence.

In April, Hitler launched the, quickly followed by the. In May, German forces were sent to support and to. Path to defeat On 22 June 1941, contravening the Hitler–Stalin Non-Aggression Pact of 1939, 4–5 million Axis troops attacked the Soviet Union. This offensive (codenamed ) was intended to destroy the Soviet Union and seize its natural resources for subsequent aggression against the Western powers. The invasion conquered a huge area, including the republics,, and West.

By early August, Axis troops had advanced 500 km (310 mi) and won the. Hitler ordered to temporarily halt its advance to Moscow and divert its Panzer groups to aid in the encirclement of and.

His generals disagreed with this change, having advanced within 400 km (250 mi) of Moscow, and his decision caused a crisis among the military leadership. The pause provided the Red Army with an opportunity to mobilise fresh reserves; historian Russel Stolfi considers it to be one of the major factors that caused the failure of the Moscow offensive, which was resumed in October 1941 and. During this crisis, Hitler appointed himself as head of the, at the same time limiting its authority to the eastern front. Hitler, to the Reichstag, on 11 December 1941 On 7 December 1941, Japan based at, Hawaii. Four days later, Hitler.

On 18 December 1941, Himmler asked Hitler, 'What to do with the Jews of Russia?' , to which Hitler replied, ' als Partisanen auszurotten' ('exterminate them as partisans'). Israeli historian has commented that the remark is probably as close as historians will ever get to a definitive order from Hitler for the genocide carried out during the Holocaust.

In late 1942, German forces were defeated in the, thwarting Hitler's plans to seize the and the Middle East. Overconfident in his own military expertise following the earlier victories in 1940, Hitler became distrustful of his Army High Command and began to interfere in military and tactical planning, with damaging consequences. In December 1942 and January 1943, Hitler's repeated refusal to allow their withdrawal at the led to the almost total destruction of the. Over 200,000 Axis soldiers were killed and 235,000 were taken prisoner. Thereafter came a decisive strategic defeat at the. Hitler's military judgement became increasingly erratic, and Germany's military and economic position deteriorated, as did Hitler's health.

The destroyed map room at the after the Following the in 1943, by after a vote of no confidence of the. Save Data Ben 10 Earth Eur more. Marshal, placed in charge of the government, soon surrendered to the Allies. Throughout 1943 and 1944, the Soviet Union steadily forced Hitler's armies into retreat along the.

On 6 June 1944, the Western Allied armies landed in northern France in one of the largest operations in history,. Many German officers concluded that defeat was inevitable and that continuing under Hitler's leadership would result in the.

Between 1939 and 1945, there were many plans to, some of which proceeded to significant degrees. The most well known, the, came from within Germany and was at least partly driven by the increasing prospect of a German defeat in the war. In July 1944, in the, part of, planted a bomb in one of, the. Hitler narrowly survived because staff officer moved the briefcase containing the bomb behind a leg of the heavy conference table, which deflected much of the blast.

Later, Hitler ordered savage reprisals resulting in the execution of more than 4,900 people. Defeat and death. A wagon piled high with corpses outside the crematorium in the liberated (April 1945) The Holocaust and Germany's war in the East were based on Hitler's long-standing view that the Jews were the enemy of the German people and that Lebensraum was needed for Germany's expansion. He focused on Eastern Europe for this expansion, aiming to defeat Poland and the Soviet Union and then removing or killing the Jews and. The (General Plan East) called for deporting the population of occupied Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union to West Siberia, for use as slave labour or to be murdered; the conquered territories were to be colonised by German or 'Germanised' settlers.

The goal was to implement this plan after the conquest of the Soviet Union, but when this failed, Hitler moved the plans forward. By January 1942, he had decided that the Jews, Slavs, and other deportees considered undesirable should be killed. Hitler's order for, dated 1 September 1939 The genocide was organised and executed by and. The records of the, held on 20 January 1942 and led by Heydrich, with fifteen senior Nazi officials participating, provide the clearest evidence of systematic planning for the Holocaust. On 22 February, Hitler was recorded saying, 'we shall regain our health only by eliminating the Jews'. Similarly, at a meeting in July 1941 with leading functionaries of the Eastern territories, Hitler said that the easiest way to quickly pacify the areas would be best achieved by 'shooting everyone who even looks odd'.

Although no direct order from Hitler authorising the mass killings has surfaced, his public speeches, orders to his generals, and the diaries of Nazi officials demonstrate that he conceived and authorised the extermination of European Jewry. During the war, Hitler repeatedly stated his prophecy of 1939 was being fulfilled, namely, that a world war would bring about the annihilation of the Jewish race. Hitler approved the —killing squads that followed the German army through Poland, the Baltic, and the Soviet Union —and was well informed about their activities. By summer 1942, was expanded to accommodate large numbers of deportees for killing. Scores of other concentration camps and satellite camps were set up throughout Europe, with several camps devoted exclusively to extermination. Between 1939 and 1945, the (SS), assisted by governments and recruits from occupied countries, was responsible for the deaths of at least eleven million people, including 5.5 to 6 million Jews (representing two-thirds of the Jewish population of Europe), and between 200,000 and 1,500,000. Deaths took place in concentration and extermination camps,, and through mass executions.

Many victims of the Holocaust were to death, while others died of starvation or disease or while working as slave labourers. In addition to eliminating Jews, the Nazis planned to reduce the population of the conquered territories by 30 million people through starvation in an action called the. Food supplies would be diverted to the German army and German civilians. Cities would be razed and the land allowed to return to forest or resettled by German colonists. Together, the Hunger Plan and Generalplan Ost would have led to the starvation of 80 million people in the Soviet Union.

These partially fulfilled plans resulted in the deaths of an estimated 19.3 million civilians and prisoners of war. Hitler's policies resulted in the killing of nearly two million non-Jewish, over three million, communists and other political opponents, homosexuals, the physically and mentally disabled,,, and trade unionists. Hitler did not speak publicly about the killings, and seems never to have visited the concentration camps. The Nazis embraced the concept of. On 15 September 1935, Hitler presented two laws—known as the —to the Reichstag.

The laws banned sexual relations and marriages between Aryans and Jews and were later extended to include 'Gypsies, Negroes or their bastard offspring'. The laws stripped all non-Aryans of their German citizenship and forbade the employment of non-Jewish women under the age of 45 in Jewish households. Hitler's early policies targeted children with physical and developmental disabilities in a programme dubbed, and he later authorised a programme for adults with serious mental and physical disabilities, now referred to as. Leadership style. Hitler during a meeting at the headquarters of in June 1942 Hitler ruled the NSDAP by asserting the (leader principle). The principle relied on absolute obedience of all subordinates to their superiors; thus he viewed the government structure as a pyramid, with himself—the —at the apex. Rank in the party was not determined by elections—positions were filled through appointment by those of higher rank, who demanded unquestioning obedience to the will of the leader.

Hitler's leadership style was to give contradictory orders to his subordinates and to place them into positions where their duties and responsibilities overlapped with those of others, to have 'the stronger one [do] the job'. In this way, Hitler fostered distrust, competition, and infighting among his subordinates to consolidate and maximise his own power. Never met after 1938, and he discouraged his ministers from meeting independently. Hitler typically did not give written orders; instead he communicated verbally, or had them conveyed through his close associate,.

He entrusted Bormann with his paperwork, appointments, and personal finances; Bormann used his position to control the flow of information and access to Hitler. Hitler dominated his country's war effort during World War II to a greater extent than any other national leader. He strengthened his control of the armed forces in 1938, and subsequently made all major decisions regarding Germany's military strategy. His decision to mount a risky series of offensives against Norway, France, and the Low Countries in 1940 against the advice of the military proved successful, though the diplomatic and military strategies he employed in attempts to force the United Kingdom out of the war ended in failure. Hitler deepened his involvement in the war effort by appointing himself commander-in-chief of the Army in December 1941; from this point forward he personally directed the war against the Soviet Union, while his military commanders facing the Western Allies retained a degree of autonomy.

Hitler's leadership became increasingly disconnected from reality as the war turned against Germany, with the military's defensive strategies often hindered by his slow decision making and frequent directives to hold untenable positions. Nevertheless, he continued to believe that only his leadership could deliver victory. In the final months of the war Hitler refused to consider peace negotiations, regarding the complete destruction of Germany as preferable to surrender. The military did not challenge Hitler's dominance of the war effort, and senior officers generally supported and enacted his decisions. For peace, freedom and democracy never again fascism millions of dead remind [us] Hitler's suicide was likened by contemporaries to a 'spell' being broken.

Public support for Hitler had collapsed by the time of his death and few Germans mourned his passing; Kershaw argues that most civilians and military personnel were too busy adjusting to the collapse of the country or fleeing from the fighting to take any interest. According to historian, National Socialism 'burst like a bubble' without its leader. Hitler's actions and ideology are almost universally regarded as gravely immoral; according to Kershaw, 'Never in history has such ruination—physical and moral—been associated with the name of one man'. Hitler's political programme brought about a world war, leaving behind a devastated and impoverished Eastern and Central Europe.

Germany itself suffered wholesale destruction, characterised as (Zero Hour). Hitler's policies inflicted human suffering on an unprecedented scale; according to, the Nazi regime was responsible for the killing of an estimated 19.3 million civilians and prisoners of war. In addition, 29 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of military action in the. The number of civilians killed during the Second World War was unprecedented in the history of warfare. Historians, philosophers, and politicians often use the word ' to describe the Nazi regime.

Many European countries have both the promotion of Nazism and. Historian described Hitler as 'one of the great examples of the singular and incalculable power of personality in historical life'. English historian saw him as 'among the 'terrible simplifiers' of history, the most systematic, the most historical, the most philosophical, and yet the coarsest, cruelest, least magnanimous conqueror the world has ever known'. For the historian, Hitler's defeat marked the end of a phase of European history dominated by Germany. In its place emerged the, a global confrontation between the, dominated by the United States and other nations, and the, dominated by the Soviet Union.

Historian avers that without Hitler and the displacement of the Jews, the modern nation state of would not exist. He contends that without Hitler, the de-colonisation of former European spheres of influence would have been postponed. Further, Haffner claims that other than, Hitler had a more significant impact than any other comparable historical figure, in that he too caused a wide range of worldwide changes in a relatively short time span.

Views on religion. Main article: Hitler was born to a practising Catholic mother and an father; after leaving home Hitler never again attended or received the. Speer states that Hitler railed against the church to his political associates and though he never officially left it, he had no attachment to it. He adds that Hitler felt that in the absence of organized religion, people would turn to mysticism, which he considered regressive. According to Speer, Hitler believed that Japanese religious beliefs or would have been a more suitable religion for Germans than Christianity, with its 'meekness and flabbiness'. Historian states that Hitler was fundamentally opposed to the Christian churches.

According to Bullock, Hitler did not believe in God, was anticlerical, and held Christian ethics in contempt because they contravened his preferred view of '. He favoured aspects of that suited his own views, and adopted some elements of the Catholic Church's hierarchical organisation,, and phraseology. Hitler viewed the church as an important politically conservative influence on society, and he adopted a strategic relationship with it that 'suited his immediate political purposes'.

In public, Hitler often praised Christian heritage and German Christian culture, though professing a belief in an 'Aryan Jesus' who fought against the Jews. Any pro-Christian public rhetoric contradicted his private statements, which described Christianity as 'absurdity' and nonsense founded on lies. According to a U.S. (OSS) report, 'The Nazi Master Plan', Hitler planned to destroy the influence of Christian churches within the Reich. His eventual goal was the total elimination of Christianity.

This goal informed Hitler's movement early on, but he saw it as inexpedient to publicly express this extreme position. According to Bullock, Hitler wanted to wait until after the war before executing this plan. Speer wrote that Hitler had a negative view of Himmler's and 's mystical notions and Himmler's attempt to mythologise the SS. Hitler was more pragmatic, and his ambitions centred on more practical concerns. See also: and Researchers have variously suggested that Hitler suffered from,,,,,,, and. In a report prepared for the OSS in 1943, of described Hitler as a 'neurotic '. In his 1977 book, historian proposes that he suffered from.

Historians Henrik Eberle and Hans-Joachim Neumann consider that while he suffered from a number of illnesses including Parkinson's disease, Hitler did not experience pathological delusions and was always fully aware of, and therefore responsible for, his decisions. Theories about Hitler's medical condition are difficult to prove, and placing too much weight on them may have the effect of attributing many of the events and consequences of Nazi Germany to the possibly impaired physical health of one individual. Kershaw feels that it is better to take a broader view of German history by examining what social forces led to the Nazi dictatorship and its policies rather than to pursue narrow explanations for the Holocaust and World War II based on only one person..

At social events he sometimes gave graphic accounts of the slaughter of animals in an effort to make his guests shun meat. Bormann had a greenhouse constructed near the (near ) to ensure a steady supply of fresh fruit and vegetables for Hitler. Hitler publicly avoided alcohol. He occasionally drank beer and wine in private, but gave up drinking because of weight gain in 1943. He was a non-smoker for most of his adult life, but smoked heavily in his youth (25 to 40 cigarettes a day); he eventually quit, calling the habit 'a waste of money'. He encouraged his close associates to quit by offering a gold watch to anyone able to break the habit. Hitler began using occasionally after 1937 and became addicted to it in late 1942.

Speer linked this use of amphetamine to Hitler's increasingly erratic behavior and inflexible decision making (for example, rarely allowing military retreats). Prescribed 90 medications during the war years by his personal physician,, Hitler took many pills each day for chronic stomach problems and other ailments. He regularly consumed,,, and, as well as and (the latter in the form of ). He suffered as a result of the bomb blast in 1944, and 200 wood splinters had to be removed from his legs. Newsreel footage of Hitler shows tremors in his left hand and a shuffling walk, which began before the war and worsened towards the end of his life.

And several other doctors who met Hitler in the last weeks of his life also formed a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Hitler in 1942 with his long-time lover,, whom he married on 29 April 1945 Hitler created a public image as a celibate man without a domestic life, dedicated entirely to his political mission and the nation.

He met his lover,, in 1929, and married her in April 1945. In September 1931, his half-niece,, took her own life with Hitler's gun in his Munich apartment. It was rumoured among contemporaries that Geli was in a romantic relationship with him, and her death was a source of deep, lasting pain., the younger sister of Hitler and the last living member of his immediate family, died in 1960. In propaganda films. • ^, pp. 226–227.

•, pp. 246–247. •, pp. 493–498. •, pp. 10–11.

•, pp. 33–34. •, pp. 163–164.

•, pp. 30–31. •, pp. 30–33. •, pp. 41, 42. •, pp. 243–246. •, pp. 236, 237, 274. •, pp. 341–345.

•, pp. 60–67. •, pp. 12–13. •, pp. 59, 60.

•, pp. 97, 102. •, pp. 238–240.

•, pp. 61, 62. •, pp. 61–63. •, pp. 80, 90, 92. •, pp. 75, 76. •, pp. 125-126. •, pp. 94, 95, 100. •, pp. 89–92.

•, pp. 100, 101. •, pp. 83, 103.

•, pp. 105–106. •, pp. 130–131. •, pp. 73–74. •, pp. 68–69. •, pp. 148–149. •, pp. 80–81.

•, pp. 158, 161, 162. •, pp. 162, 166.

•, pp. 166, 167. •, pp. 136–137. •, pp. 224–225. •, p. 403 et.

•, pp. 434–446 et. •, pp. 218–219. •, p. 449 et. •, pp. 434–436, 471. •, pp. 468–471. •, pp. 477–479. •, pp. 456–458, 731–732.

•, pp. 194, 274. •, pp. 196–197.

• ^, pp. 350–374. •, pp. 309–314. •, pp. 313–315.

•, pp. 392, 393. •, pp. 393–397.

•, pp. 318–319. •, pp. 397–398. •, pp. 109–111. •, pp. 259–260.

•, pp. 54–57. •, pp. 118–119.

•, pp. 570–572. •, pp. 26–27. •, pp. 490–491. •, pp. 492, 555–556, 586–587. •, pp. 601–602.

•, pp. 630–631. •, pp. 56–57. • ^, pp. 636–637. •, pp. 73–78. • ^, pp. 178–179. •, pp. 334–335. •, pp. 338–340.

•, pp. 418–419. •, pp. 149–150. •, pp. 256–260. •, pp. 202–203. •, pp. 462–463. •, pp. 671, 682–683.

•, pp. 90–91. •, pp. 268–269. •, pp. 579–581. • ^, pp. 688–690.

• ^, pp. 537–539, 557–560. •, pp. 76–77. •, pp. 36–37, 92. •, pp. 181–187. •, pp. 252–253. •, pp. 85–94. •, pp. 255–257.

•, pp. 561–562, 583–584. • ^, pp. 141–145. •, pp. 88–89. • ^, pp. 148–149.

•, pp. 696–730. •, pp. 731–737. •, pp. 774–782. •, pp. 563, 569, 570. •, pp. 58–60. •, pp. 604–605.

•, pp. 141–142. •, pp. 900–901.

•, pp. 419–420. •, pp. 996–1000.

•, pp. 513–514. •, pp. 544–547, 821–822, 827–828.

•, pp. 816–818. •, pp. 1048–1072. •, pp. 753, 763, 780–781. • ^, pp. 774–775. •, pp. 497–498. •, pp. 255–256.

•, pp. 787, 795. •, pp. 227–228. •, pp. 923–925, 943. •, pp. 792, 795. •, pp. 160–182. •, pp. 217–220.

•, pp. 799–800. •, pp. 949–950. •, pp. 111, 333. •, pp. 335–336. •, pp. 459–462. •, pp. 670–675. •, pp. 383–396.

•, pp. 162–163, 416. •, pp. 567–568. •, pp. 170, 172, 181.

• ^, pp. 421–425. •, pp. 169–170. •, pp. 396–397. •, pp. 171–395.

•, pp. 348–350. •, pp. 100–101. •, pp. 94–96. • ^, pp. 141–142. •, pp. 385, 389. •, pp. 27, 108.

•, pp. 219, 389. •, pp. 141, 171, 174. •, pp. 129–190. •, pp. xxxv–xxxvi. •, pp. 32–33.

•, p. Chapter 3. •, pp. 125–142.

•, pp. 11–20. •, p. 190–191. •, pp. 947–948. •, pp. 393–394.